Little Heaven
by Hanei Tamashii
Summary: In olden days China, a boy finds himself so very alone, untrusting, isolated. Will he learn to trust? To love? Warning: ##Shounen-ai## Sanzo/Goku
1. Chapter One

Minna, I was feeling a little shitty and down today so I decided to come up with an equally depressing fic just to suit the mood.  
  
  
  
Disclaimers : I don't own Saiyuki. Never have, never will :(  
  
  
  
Little Heaven  
  
Chapter One  
  
By Hanei Tamashii  
  
  
  
Though I was only a thirteen years old at that time, I knew pretty much about the world. To sum it all up, life's a bitch. I knew the responsibility I would hold being the only heir to the family (my father was rich from the various business he had), I knew how much land the family owned and the people it supported, I knew of my father's infidelities -having learnt from mother's constant outburst. I let her hit me, my eyes never leaving her face; her eyes, not the warm brown it was but bloodshot from her endless tears, her sanity loss for the moment due the influence of liquor. I didn't want to understand her, her grief, her loss that had led her to this state but I did. Maybe it was because I too had lost love -my mother's love, as well as my father's.  
  
But hell, I didn't need love. I am Genjo Sanzo! The cold icicle, the heartless bastard, the spoiled boy, the... Shit, who cares about what the boys that worked in his father's plantation calls me. They could call me by what ever names they could think of and I wouldn't give a damn, not a glance, not a care. Yet at my denial, a sinking feeling stirred in my body. I cursed my protesting heart. My pathetic, weak heart that craved for attention, for kind words, for care, for love. Was it too much to ask for? To be cared? I hugged myself as I sat on my bed. No one would want to spend their time with a fouled mouth, bad-tempered, arrogant child would they? No one would bother to know the real me would they? No one would look through the icy mask of mine to find the real mr would they? ... I guess not. I desperately wished for the tears in my eyes to go away - a man doesn't cry. But I was a boy was I not?  
  
"You dimwit! Can't you even carry a sack of rice properly!?"  
  
The loud voice beyond the walls surrounding the garden extracted me from my tangled thoughts. Annoyed and somewhat glad at the temporary distraction, I quietly left my room and walked into the garden. In a quick jump or two, I was hiding amongst the leaves of the large tree at the garden's edge.  
  
I saw a big surly man hovering over a timid little boy. The boy had his head down. "I'm sorry."  
  
"You're sorry?? The word 'sorry' can't pay for the damage if you tear that sack apart! Now move it! And expect a cut in your pay!"  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
I saw the man that I recognized as my father's rice plantation foreman walk away, leaving the small boy to himself. The young boy (which looked much younger than myself) struggled for awhile to lift the larger sack. His effort seemed useless, the sack was about twice the boy's size. I smirked at his pathetic efforts. It was almost laughable, seeing the boy tugged at the unmoving sack - kicking it, pulling it. It reminded me of a story my mother once told me, something about moving a mountain. But I didn't laugh. The determined look on the boy's face was a different story. I had never seen such a determined look on anyone's face, not since the day father declared that his devotion was wholly to his wife and he would work harder for her. Ceh, what a liar he was.  
  
From the corner of my eyes, I saw another boy jogged over to the younger boy. The new boy's hair was an eye sore. Not only was it feminishly long, but it had the weirdest coloring. It was red. From the tree I sat, I heard them yell at each other for awhile - in a brotherly sort of argument. Then unexpectedly, the redhead picked the sack of rice up.  
  
"You owe me half your month's pay monkey!"  
  
"I'm not a monkey! And the two ran off in a sprint.  
  
I stared at their fast disappearing forms. I could tell they were peasant boys that worked father's plantation but I hadn't seen them before. Ah, the plantation was big, they could have been working in some other part of the plantation doing all sorts of odd jobs. They were poor, hardworking people yet I couldn't help wish I were in their place. Then at least I wouldn't be as isolated and lonely as I was now. I envied the brotherhood those peasant boys shared so strongly, so steadfastly. I didn't even have anybody to call a friend.  
  
"Sanzo-sama! Sanzo-sama! Where are you?"  
  
I jumped down from my hiding spot, landing directly in front of the maid that had been looking. She had been attending to me for quite some time now, and was no longer surprised at my sudden appearance. Instead, she walked up to me and dusted the dirt that stuck to the silken vest I wore over a black, high collared, long sleeve silk shirt.  
  
"Your father wants your presence at his study now, young master." I gave her a nod and pulled myself away from her. Her kindness was artificial, drilled into them for fear they would loose their job. Hn, life was a bitch.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"Ah, my son. Here you are." He smiled, but I could see the strain on his face as he did so. Fake, how fake it was. "Now, now. I want you to do a little something for me. I have some business in the neighboring town and will be taking leave soon."  
  
Before he even went to the point of him calling for me, I answered him, "Yes, I will patrol the plantation today and yes, I'll tell mother about your business after you leave."  
  
I seemed to have shocked him a little as he stood there, eyes wide before me. The shock was brief, but father soon found my obedience an advantage.  
  
"Good, good. Now then," he paused as he smoked from a rolled piece of paper stuffed with tobacco. "I shall be back in two days. Till then.."  
  
I didn't want to hear the rest. I turned and left him. I couldn't face him any longer. The 'business' of his - I knew better. Two days he says? Two days of being relieved from this distraught household, two days of finding comfort in the pliant soft arms of another woman, two days of freedom. And where did that leave me? It was a thought I couldn't bare explore so I hurried to the dirt pathway from the back of the house that led to the paddy fields, the orchards, the little bee farm which had bees exported from some foreign land to produce a higher quality of the already sweet sticky substance.  
  
My father's loyal assistant paced quickly behind me as I checked the lands. Yes, everything seemed to be all right, not that I was paying any attention really. I just wanted to lock myself in my little room and ignore the people I saw that bowed slightly in respect at me. Hah! Respect! What a big fat farce. No one gave a damn about me, I could see it in their eyes. I could read their eyes, I could see the disdain they held for the little prissy boy who got lucky to be born into a wealthy family.  
  
I quickened my steps. The bee farm was my last stop. I approached the netted area alone, having already dismissed the tired elderly assistant. It was to be a quick survey I thought -there was nothing much to check on, I just had to make sure the workers had no complaints. I entered the small shack next to the farm and found it empty. The workers still hadn't return from lunch so I decided to inspect the netting that kept the bees there myself.  
  
As soon as I stepped out, I saw him. It was the same young boy I had seen earlier outside the walls of my garden. What was HE doing here? I sneaked up behind him as quietly as possible. He didn't seem to notice me so far, seemingly intrigued by the buzzing insects. The dumb boy didn't realize the danger he was placing himself in as he neared the entrance of the wooden 'home' of the bees. He was so absorbed at his task, the boy didn't notice I had place my hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Oi." It was short and simple but it did the job. The young boy gave a small cry of shock and turned around. In the boy's haste, his clumsy arms hit the artificial hives. It didn't take a genius to know what would happen next.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Shit. Run!!!" I didn't need to wait to see what we had to run for. Hive equals bees and knocking one over meant run for your life or get stung. I had grabbed his arm, call it reflex, but I had grabbed the younger boy's arm and pulled him along with me. I heard him gasping for air, so was I, nevertheless the increasing buzzing sound that chased us didn't allow for us to stop for a breath. I looked around, thinking of an escape, a way out. We couldn't run forever. I almost missed it but thank god I didn't - a pond.Well..the muddy, murky little pool of water was undeserving to be called a pond. It was a sorry excuse for a pond if it was.  
  
It had took him by surprise when I leaped for it.. Serves him right for causing all this trouble. A loud splash followed our rather ungraceful dive into the water. I hoped the idiot could hold his breath for a couple of minutes. We had to remain submerged for the moment. It was only when I felt that it was all right to pop out the water did I swim for the surface (in truth my lungs were burning). I emerged from the muddy water and greedily sucked in as much air as my lungs could take. To hell if the bees were still there but thank god they weren't.  
  
Another head appeared next to me from the surface of the water. He looked like a drowned animal, which in a way was true. Didn't his redhead friend call the boy a monkey? Looking at his innocent, childlike face almost made me forget my anger. Almost.  
  
"WHAT IN THE WORLD WERE YOU DOING? NOSING AROUND THE BEE FARM LIKE THAT?! DON'T YOU KNOW BEES CAN GET DANGEROUS?! "  
  
"......" I ignored the boy's guilt filled face and continued my sermon. "YOU COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED IF YOU WERE ALLERGIC TO IT!"  
  
"....."  
  
My patience was reaching it's limits and the boy still hadn't answer me. I lifted his chin so that his eyes faced mine and in a lower, demanding tone I told him to talk.  
  
"Erm.... What's allergic?"  
  
For the first time in my life, I felt a twitch of a vein at my forehead. I pushed away the question he threw back at me -somehow I felt that even my most detailed explanation wouldn't enlighten the young boy. I diverted it with another question. "Tell me what were you doing there?"  
  
A pout immediately formed at the boy's lips. "Well..well..."  
  
"Well what?!"  
  
"Um.. Gojyo nii-chan said that only girls had sweet honey and boys didn't so I just wanted to show him I can make honey too! I was hoping Mr. And Mrs. Bee could show me how they made honey," the boy said without a clue of what he had said.  
  
Hm, honey? That Gojyo fellow must have one heck of a sick perverted mind. I would have interrogated further but a sneeze from the young boy reminded me we WERE still in a murky little pond. Gods knows what lurked in the pond. I swam to the pond's side and promptly pushed myself up. Having done that, I turned to pull the boy up but seeing him look so helpless with river reeds weave about his hair looking like arrows had gone through his head, made me stop.  
  
"You look like a drowned monkey with a couple of arrow shot right through the brain. No wonder you seem to be lacking the intellectual part of yourself right now," I commented.  
  
I laughed inwardly, knowing that the monkey could only make sense of half of what i spoke but I got my desired response nevertheless. "I'm not a monkey!!!!!!"  
  
I would have laughed but it would seem awkward if I did. I hadn't even smiled for a long time and so I offered a hand of help. He held onto my hand ; his smaller but rougher hands in mine. Eager to get him out there and to get a bath, I didn't notice the slip of a grin he gave. Instead of letting me do the pulling, he gave a tug, and in my surprise I couldn't respond. I lurched into the water, getting soaked for the second time.  
  
My temper would have rised, my hands would have automatically whacked the boy, I would have spit out a curse or two but something stopped me. His laughter. The sound of merry laughter, like chiming bells in the wind, so innocent, soothing to the ears, so sincere. I couldn't stop myself from smiling. It was a hint of a smile, but it was a smile nevertheless. I could only wish, and pray, maybe just for today, I would have a real friend.  
  
"By the way onii-chan," I looked up into his golden stare. "I'm Goku! What's your name?"  
  
".....Sanzo. Genjo Sanzo."  
  
  
  
To be continued......  
  
  
  
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Whoa, this sounds like some kind of weird one-shot, which sounds like, but is not. This fic may last for three chapters or so before I decide to close the book on it. ^^ So till then please R&R!!!! 


	2. Chapter Two

*Snorts* Hehe, I was suppose to post this yesterday round midnight but coz I didn't want to wake the entire household, I decided to post it today.  
  
Hanei's Scribbla  
  
[Caer] :*Phew... Glad you like it ^^  
  
[Demon master] : Dragon muses? No!!! All right, all right, here's the continuation so enjoy~  
  
[Gokugurl] : Aw... you're making me blush to the roots of my hair. I'm not that great. Ur fic lah more Wow~  
  
[Tri] : Kawaii? I was hoping it was more like dark and all but thx anyway!  
  
[stresser] : Arigatou! I'm feeling better now. I just get moody and stuff when thinking of a particular something. Ohya~ 3 Unfinished story. I think I'll get 'Little Heaven' finished first then 'Mr Goku..' and then...hm..i dunno if got time to write on TMK coz guess wat?? I found myself a temporary job for the holidays. ^^ Oo, and to your previous question, I'm a chinese ^^  
  
[cutie-pie16] : Ah.. It won't be cute for long ^o^  
  
[Muchacha] : And here's the continuation!!!!!  
  
  
  
  
  
Disclaimers : If I hadn't seen it, I wouldn't have wish to own it. Why?? Why?? Why can't I own Saiyuki? Hm.... maybe it's coz in the first place I can hardly draw properly. Thank god for Kazuya Minekura ^^  
  
  
  
  
  
Little Heaven  
  
Chapter Two  
  
BY Hanei Tamashii  
  
  
  
  
  
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"Sanzo! Hey wanna go fishing with me?"  
  
I looked up from the book I was studying. It contained the past year records of father's business. Past years.... yes. Time seems to fly by so fast that it just catches you by surprise. Catch other's by surprise maybe, but not me. I was just counting the days until the day I would finally be free of this colorless world. Father was back from his usual trip to the large city, he always made a trip there every once in a year. This time, he didn't return alone. A woman, voluptuous body and all, trailed behind him, carrying with her a large baggage. He said to me she would be staying here. Staying here for a long, long time. I didn't give a damn. As long as she doesn't come into my perimeters, I would be just fine with that. It wasn't as if the family acknowledged one another now anyway. Mother was her usual abusive self, though her madness has increased by two folds since the appearance of father's mistress. Father didn't know a shit about what I go through everyday- the pain, the bruises, the screams, the shouts. He went about the plantation like he would do on every other day, then the later half of the day would be spent in the confines of his study and at night he would indulge himself in the arms of his new woman. It was routine, it was sickening, it was life.  
  
However, nowadays, the dull life seemed almost bearable. Barely, but it was. Maybe it was because I had grown up, matured. Or maybe because I had grown accustomed to it. Or maybe, just maybe, it was because I had known somebody. A somebody that has stuck like a thorn to my side since I met him a year ago. A somebody who went by the name of Goku.  
  
Goku; a person who understands unseen things. Unseen things.... was that why he stayed so persistently with me? I always cut him away at every possible chance and spat out hurtful words that I wish I could take back every time I said them. Yet he stayed. Was it because he understood me? The unseen pain that I go through? The pain that has slowly but surely drained the 'human' in me? Hah! Who was I kidding. The boy glued to me only because he knew I was the future master of the entire household, his future master.  
  
Even so, I couldn't help but think how absurd that thought sounded. I didn't think the monkey had it in him to manipulate the chances he had. Perhaps the hardness in me was wearing out. Perhaps the ice in me was melting away, I didn't know nor would I admit the real reason even if I knew. But seeing the youth looking so excitedly at me every time, even after I left him the day before 'injured' by my scathing tongue, it made my tensed, tightened heart beat in relieve. He always came back, he always did. Whether he liked to pretend I hadn't hurt him, or that he sincerely didn't mind me, I didn't really care. I was just.. relieved to see him every time.  
  
Remembering he was still waiting for my answer, I pulled myself out of my thoughts.  
  
"Hn. Get lost. I'm too busy today."  
  
There, I had said it again. The cutting, fast rejection. Though what I'd really like to do was give him a nod and followed him, it just came natural to me to act so coldly. It was a part of me that I couldn't control nor did I wish to control. But looking at him now, why couldn't I at least just try to be ... nice? To him that is. Why did I push him away like I did every one else? I didn't know..  
  
"Aw, don't be a spoil sport. You always say you are busy, but all I see you to is laze about and read some story book."  
  
I lifted my eyebrows. Story book? His 'intelligence' never failed to amuse me until today and like every other time, explaining it to him would prove pointless.  
  
"Reports. Ten more to go. Busy. Period."  
  
I looked back down into the page I had been staring at for the past fifteen minutes. I heard him sigh and the footsteps that followed. I heard the rustling of the rough cloths of his dirt brown pants and I heard the sound of a stone skipping down the path as he kicked it away. Invitation, rejection, draggy footsteps -routine. Then the lazy drag stopped.  
  
"Then I'll see you in two hours! You won't be busy at that time right? See you!" And his skinny body skipped away. Che, another routine statement. He never gave up did he? A smile, begging to be broken loose tugged at the corner at my mouth. Thank god he didn't... thank god he didn't.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Two hours later, I didn't meet up to our so called 'promised' meeting. Mother was in one of her moods again having being neglected by father once again, so who better to take it out on then her bastard son? I was in her room. It was meticulously clean, flawlessly neat. Not a dust sat on the antique teak chair or table. I never did understand how she managed to do it. To remain sane and insane at the same time. She always was a perfectionist -her glossy brown hair twisted into a high bun on her head, every curve of the eyebrow perfectly painted, twin spots of pink dusted onto her pale cheeks. No one would have imagined that this was the very same woman that stood before him, reeking of the liquor that had started from one dainty porcelain cup to a dozen.  
  
The moment I had entered the room, the play begun. First, she would invite me to sit by her on the bed, then she would talk about how miserable she was followed by the haunting look on her face when she stared at my face.  
  
"You look just like him," she would say and then her hand would descend hardly on my cheeks. Rains of fist would shower upon me, now everywhere except on my face. She didn't want any obvious signs that she had touched me and I would just stay there by her, letting her hit me. I never fought her off before though it crossed my mind once. The thought of fighting off my own mother was a vile one. So I let her abuse me -it was the only thing that kept her sane anyway. But today, it seemed the gods had decided to make my life go down one step closer to hell. The new member of the family had decided to interrupt my 'bonding' with mother.  
  
"Let the boy go!" A shudder went down my spine. Her high pitched voice irritated my nerves, her melodramatic-ness made me roll my eyes. She pulled me into her full bosom as though I was hers (her toy maybe), and warned mother away. Ignoring mother's weak attempt at getting me back, she pulled me out into the corridors to bring me to the other building where her room was.  
  
I remained silent as she tended to me, cleaning my cuts and gently massaging my bruises with some herbish ointment. She had managed to do all that without a single retort from me as I was in my 'switch-off' mode- a moment where I would hide in a little shell within me far from the pain of the realities, numb to mother's beating. However, the sudden pressure of hands running over my chest, pushing my shirt away snapped me back into reality. Her face was at my neck, licking the skin and nipping at it. Her roaming hands were frantically trying to undo the small balls of buttons to get a feel of the skin beneath it. I instantly felt nauseous and struggled to push the womanly body above me away. I suppose she mistook it as sexual anxiety and she smothered her painted lips over mine.  
  
Sickening. The heady smell of her perfume, hair suffocating my face, tongue running over my chilled lips. Absolutely sickening. I gathered all the energy I had left in me and forcefully push her away. I rubbed my lips hardly with a swipe of my sleeve and threw her a hateful glare before I walked out the room. I wanted to run, but I made myself walk out coolly. I wouldn't let her see my fright, I wouldn't let her smile victoriously knowing that she has affected me. The moment I was a corridor away from the perfumed room, I ran.  
  
I ran blindly, I didn't care where I would end up. I ran into the plantation -it was evening already and the place was as dead as a cemetery. I ran past the bee-farm, towards a nearby river and I ran into him.  
  
"Sanzo?"  
  
Him. Why him? Of all the souls on the land, I had to run into the noisiest one. But it was I who had unconsciously run to him had I not? There was only one place to fish, one place to go and I knew he would be there. Why did I run to him? I collapse onto the ground before him, no longer able to withstand the day's event. In the brink of falling into the welcoming silence, I heard his voice yelling again.  
  
"SANZO!!!!" Hn, the boy never knew to keep it down did he..  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"Oi, saru. Where did you find this dead boy anyway?"  
  
"Get lost you horny monster. I didn't ask you to be here!"  
  
"Hey, chill it. I was just bringin' some food over. Ma was worried you would starve."  
  
"Arigatou Gojyo-nii chan."  
  
"Hah! The things I do for you and that bottomless pit of yours."  
  
"Bottomless pit? What?!"  
  
"Hahahaha"  
  
Their squabble once again caught my attention- like it did a year ago. Slowly, from the abyss of my hazy mind, I opened my eyes.  
  
"Aa, looks like the dead boy isn't dead. I'll leave you and the beauty alone Goku-chan. Ja." "Why you!!!!"  
  
I crumpled back into the flat bed, my attempts to get up foiled. Immediately, he was by my side, aiding me up.  
  
"Are you all right?"  
  
I didn't answer him. I didn't feel like talking. He left my side for a moment, and brought me a cup of water. I emptied the cup in one gulp, and he took the empty cup away. As I was about to withdraw my hands from the brown porcelain cup, his hands gripped my arms hard. I winced -not only did he catch me by surprise but he was pressing onto a bruised part of my arm.  
  
"Gomen!" So he had noticed my little cry of pain. He didn't let go immediately as I expected him to. Instead, he pushed back the cloth on my right hand and gasped. On reflex, I hit his hands away and pulled back. He wasn't suppose to have seen that- I would have a huge headache if his questions started.  
  
He surprised me by his silence. He hadn't even spoken a word. It was, in a way, good. Good but unnerving; the boy never kept shut in my presence for more than a full second.  
  
"Ahh.. Would you like some warm water to wash yourself?"  
  
I glanced down at myself and realized my fall had left me dirt- filled. Not only that, I smelt like a garden overflowing with smelly exotic flowers. I slowly nodded my head and the boy was off. The boy.. I wondered why I thought of him as 'the boy'. I wasn't exactly that old, only a mere fourteen year old and the boy.. I mean Goku was nine, five years behind. Nine.. when I was nine, life was much better than now. Anything would be better than now. Goku slowly teetered back in, careful not to spill a drop of water from the wooden basin he held. He placed it on a small table next to the bed, and without bothering to ask me, he took it into his hands to clean me. He twisted a wet piece of cloth dry, pushed back my sleeves, and cleansed my arms. Something was incited in me; no one had bothered taking such care with me like he did. He was gentle, as though if he wiped me too hard, I would disappear or break like porcelain or something. All of a sudden he paused.  
  
"Could you take off your shirt?"  
  
"What?!"  
  
"I need to clean your chest too."  
  
He had said it so matter-of-factly I almost felt like an idiot for being so surprised. I placed two hands on the first button and a rush of memories filled me. Groping, roaming hands -tugging madly at my shirt. Lips, pressing over mine. Her scent, sickeningly intoxicating. I snatched the cloth away from him and turned away from his confused gaze.  
  
"I'll do it myself."  
  
Suddenly the cloth in my hands was gone - he had snatched it back.  
  
"You're injured! Let me do the taking care all right?"  
  
"Shut up and get lost! Why do you care anyway?" I snapped.  
  
He silenced me down quickly. "Because I'm your friend! Friends take care of each other!" And so, he had taken charged that night, as I gave up and quickly took off my shirt. As attentive as he had been to my arms, so was he to the bruised skin hidden under the expensive silken black shirt. As he cleaned me that night, I closed my eyes imagining that he was also cleansing my tainted soul, imagining that for once, there was someone who really cared.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Two days had passed, and I was back to my usual icy self. I hadn't seen Goku since that day -the plantation was busy with new business father had fished back. He had sent me to buy some horses from town- her highness mistress had a sudden urge to own some of the magnificent creature. She had said it with such a convincing sweetness of persuasion, father would have given her anything in the world. I walked alone in the busy morning streets as the servant that had followed me had been ordered by myself to collect some debts. Everyone in the streets seemed so lively, so trouble-free... so unlike me.  
  
"Okaa-chan!!!! I want some of that! Please?????"  
  
The child's desperate whine reached my ears, so I threw a brief glance at the mother and son. They stood in front of a stall - a small makeshift stall like all the stalls along the streets, which sold fresh, steaming porkbuns. The mother bought her child one and the boy happily took a huge bite. He reminded me of a certain someone. Goku, specifically. The boy was always hungry and loved porkbuns immensely. I decided to buy one or two, as a thank you gift, for 'saving' me. I could already see the drool making way, and the way his eyes would lit up at the sign of food. When the man handed me the brown bag full of porkbuns, I could have kicked myself. Instead of just one or two, I had bought nearly a dozen without a thought. Jeez, the boy was really getting to me. I waited for the moment where I would feel like murdering the boy for making him 'feel' again but it never came. Jeez, I was getting soft.  
  
I stopped and looked around. The streets were packed with people and I didn't feel like bracing through the crowd. I saw a quiet lane and decided to take a quick shortcut to leave the busy market. The back lane was quiet, not a soul in sight. I didn't mind that. I didn't really like being seen anyway. The only person I would tolerate was a noisy, brown haired boy, who had huge, innocent gold eyes you'd just feel like you want to punch him. Goku.. my thoughts were focused on the boy lately. Every thread of idea seemed to be centered on the happy young boy who had made my life so much more livelier, meaningful. I had a... friend. Someone I could care for (though I would NEVER show him I did, all he was getting from me was a punch and a curse or two), someone I could be with when I needed somebody, someone that would take care of me. Hn, since when did I relied so much on a pesky nine year old? Pathetic. Terribly pathetic, but I didn't mind being pathetic for once.  
  
As I thought of him, I didn't feel the rush of wind from behind me. I didn't hear the footsteps. When I thought I had heard something.. it was too late. The bag of porkbuns held closely in my arms fell, snowy white buns dirtied as it rolled on the ground. The stabbing pain on my neck told me I was attacked. But I couldn't do a thing. The heavy blow made my world spin. Everything went in a spin now, as I fell onto the ground.  
  
"No...."  
  
  
  
To be continued....  
  
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Wai wai! Don't kill me for being so dramatic and all! If you think this is bad... Hehehe...you'll wanna murder me in the coming chapters. ^^; Please R&R till then! 


	3. Chapter Three

MINNA!!!!!!!!!!! Okay, before shooting daggers eyes and all, please forgive this lousy writer who churns up story only to hang them for a VERRRYYY long time. GOMEN NASAI! However, I was just browsing through FF.net one day when I felt a little guilty to my readers for the lack of chapters. So here I am again, for this very short period of time again, back with chap. 3 of 'Little Heaven'. Thank you to the readers who had decided to spare a moment of their time to drop a lil review for my fics (even when I'm not in productive mode ^^)!!!  
Disclaimers : If I owned Saiyuki, my name wouldn't be Hanei Tamashii ^o^  
Little Heaven  
  
Chapter Three  
  
By Hanei Tamashii  
"NO!!!!!!"  
  
I kicked him, punched him, pushed him but to no avail. The heavy body above me was just too much for my weakened body. He roughly shoved me on to the bed, not caring that I had hit my head on the wooden headrest, and tore my now stained silk shirt aside. His body trapped mine and he pressed my flailing hands down. I could only try to struggle free but with my hands restrained and legs anchored down by his, I couldn't do much.  
  
"Stay still now," he said with a poisoned grin and he crushed his mouth over mine. I pressed my lips together, trying to put a stop to his violation but I could still feel the wet tongue laving over my own. I forcefully turned my head away from his repugnant face, but he followed and tried fixing his mouth over mine again. My heart was racing in my chest, drumming in a frantic beat, twisting so painfully I almost couldn't breathe. The burning sensation of my lungs grew with every moment. I couldn't hold it any longer and the moment my lips parted, his sour tongue filled my mouth, choking me. In my panic, I bit him and immediately he moved away, freeing my mouth of his bitter one. I wanted to spit the taste of him out, the indescribably foul filth. But he slapped me hard, so hard that every bone in my skull shook. I fell on the floor, my head hitting the wood painfully. Something wet - red, thick, fluid, slid out from my nose and the metallic taste of it spread across my taste buds.  
  
If it weren't for the abuse I had already known from mother, I was sure I wouldn't be able to hold on any longer. Death was so very inviting right now. So, why did I cling on for dear life?  
++++++++++++++++++  
  
Five days ago.  
  
I felt as though I had slept forever when my subconscious mind finally decided I was rested enough. I opened my eyes only to find myself seeing nothing. It took me a few seconds to comprehend the bleak darkness. I was in a shack and the sounds of the crickets could be heard beyond the four wooden walls. My hands were bound together, I couldn't get up and my neck ached with every movement. I tried to sit up, the effort seemed to eat up every ounce of energy in me. How long had I passed out anyway? How long since I had had anything to eat and drink? I licked my dried and cracked lips and tasted blood. I needed to get help, I needed to get back home .Home. Thoughts of my abusive mother, the father who had never once protected me and the doll of a woman he had brought home flashed in my mind. Why did I need to go back anyway? I had always been counting the days when I could finally be free of the days walking on earth, of leaving home, of dying. Strange thoughts for a fourteen-year-old, but I had tasted enough of life to know what I would face in the future. I would be head of the family, deal with the family's business, get a wife, and have a family. But I don't want all that! I don't want a wife! I don't want to have a family! I just wished I would never have to face a single soul on earth until I breathe my last breath. Having a family was a burden, humans were nothing but empty bodies going through life mechanically and brought nothing but trouble.  
  
Besides, my absence wouldn't be missed anyway. No one did care about me. Mother may just miss her toy, father had his woman to comfort him. They would have a child to replace my lost and that was it. Nobody needed me just as I didn't need anybody. I buried my face into my palms and felt the squeeze of my aching heart. I hadn't sink this deep into my thoughts ever since. ever since I had met him, my only friend. He had made me forget of my quiet suffering, he made me want to live just to see what he was up to the next day and the next. I couldn't believe I almost forgot him amidst my messed up mind. I could never think straight when I was alone.  
  
"Sanzo!"  
  
It was just barely a whisper but I heard it.  
  
"Sanzo!"  
  
It was him! But how had he found me? I tried to speak, the darkness of my mind forgotten, but it felt as though the dryness of my mouth had constricted my vocal cords. From the barred windows, I saw a shadow and the brightness of a dim paper lamp.  
  
"Goku." I managed to moan as I slowly but surely made my way towards the source of light. It had to be at least for a week I was kept here, I had never felt more lethargic in my entire life. Even the last time mother starved me for two days didn't feel as bad as this.  
  
"Sanzo! I found you! Here, here, here, drink this." He pulled out a small water bag and quickly uncapped it. He pushed it between the bars and tilted it over my mouth. As I hurriedly gulped down every drop, the wonder of a boy was quickly speaking.  
  
"I overheard the mistress your father had brought back talking with some baddy looking guys while I was in the forest. You had been gone for six days! Everyone was looking for you! The evil lady! She kidnapped you!" Goku was shaking, I couldn't tell whether it was because of the cold or because of something else. So it was her, it wasn't a surprise though. I should be feeling murderously angry at the moment but I didn't. I should be plotting some kind of revenge over the woman but my mind was turning in that way just yet. Instead, I was choking on some foreign feeling. It felt warm over my chest and was comfortably spreading to every inch of my body. He came, somehow against all odds, someone actually came for me. I felt his smaller hands squeezing my shoulders.  
  
"Let's get you out!" The pressure on my shoulders disappeared and so did he. I heard him rummaging through some things and he finally held out an axe that weighed more than the eight-year-old.  
  
Just as he was about to swing the axe, he paused. I heard the sound of footsteps approaching the door just as he did. I shook my head, the look on my face easily understood. He shook back, not wanting to leave. Couldn't the idiot see he was putting himself in danger! He himself could get caught and god knows what those people would do to him. I leaned against the window, my back facing him. My heart felt heavy, I didn't want him to go, I didn't want to stay here any longer either but what could two mere children do against a group of savage adults anyway.  
I heard his light footsteps and the dry rustling of the grass almost drowned by the bawdy laughter of the approaching men.  
"I'll get Gojyo! We'll come and get you!"  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++  
I could have gone mad in the days I spent in the dark little cabin they had locked me in but it was him, the thought that someone out there was genuinely worried for me that sustained me. And I knew that one day he would keep his promise. Though he never did come for me that night, I didn't blame him. On the night Goku left, it was also the night my captors had brought me to the port. I had pretended to be unconscious as they carried me, laughing over my fate.  
  
From what they spoke to each other, I only knew I was to be shipped to some foreign land. It seemed I had angered father's mistress and I had to pay. By getting rid of me, her child would also take over my place as heir to father's business. I laughed inwardly. Women were so materialistic. I wonder if the child she had would have an attitude as leery as hers. Maybe one day, she would get a taste of her medicine.  
  
The two mangy men passed me over to the captain of the ship and the worst chapter of my life began. The ship had sat sail for five days now and the journey would take several more weeks. Although the vessel seemed like a normal merchant ship, it was actually a mask disguising their real task. They were smuggling children over to other lands for labor. With labor cost on the rise, it was no wonder why children for labor were in demand. It was all in order for some greedy, miser of a man to rake profit from the exploitation.  
  
Now, I faced the middleman who shared a scrap of wealth from the illegal smuggling business. He picked me from the floor and brought his face just inches away from mine.  
  
"Come on boy," he coaxed. "Don't you want to find out what it takes to be a man?" My innards felt grossly nauseated as he smothered his body over mine. I felt something pressing painfully against my hips and attempted to reach for it as he slowly peeled of what was left of my clothing. When I finally wrapped my fingers around the hard yet smooth object, I smirked. I pulled it out and blindly stabbed. I didn't give a damn what I was doing, my movements were uncontrollable, my thoughts blank. I just continued raising the blade and randomly stabbed at the large body that was slowly sliding limply against me.  
Red. all was red. My hands, my cloths, the blade I held so tightly until my skin stung. everything, was drenched in the captain's blood. I stared at the lifeless body emotionlessly. What had I done? Was this what I wanted? To take away the man's life? I dropped the blade and fell on my knees. The door had finally burst open and a whirl of commotion filled the tiny cabin. Someone had punched me, and another had grabbed me and pushed me hard against the wall. I withdrew myself from the horror just as I had always done when mother abused me. My eyes stayed on my bloodstained hands though. I knew I was no longer the same now, my hands would forever be stained. There would no longer be a heaven for my sinful soul.  
  
To be continued (Though not so soon ^^).....  
  
----------------------  
  
*sighs* Okay, the ending sounded a little weird but I couldn't come up with anything better. GOMEN NASAI!!!! I'll come up with a revised and hopefully BETTER version when I have the time. I felt this one was a little rushed since I really wanted to get this done before I start me classes next week. Till then, JA! 


End file.
